Sunday, August 02, 2015, 3:34 p.m.

Obama: Plane shot down by missile, 1 American dead

By The Associated Press

This article was originally published July 18, 2014 at 7:12 a.m.
Updated July 18, 2014 at 11:15 a.m.

PHOTO BY AP/JACQUELYN MARTIN

President Barack Obama pauses while speaking about the situation in Ukraine on Friday, July 18, 2014, in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. Obama called for immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, demands credible investigation of downed plane.

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A Malaysia Airlines passenger plane carrying 295 people was shot down over war-torn eastern Ukraine ...

Passengers' personal luggage is collected at the site of a crashed Malaysia Airlines passenger plane near the village of Rozsypne, Ukraine, eastern Uk...

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Friday said one American was killed on the plane downed over Ukraine. He said the airliner was shot down by a surface-to-air missile in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

The president called it a global tragedy in remarks from the White House, one day after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed.

He called for a credible international investigation.

Meanwhile, emergency workers, police officers and even off-duty coal miners spread out Friday across the sunflower fields and villages of eastern Ukraine, searching the wreckage of a Malaysia Airlines jet shot down as it flew miles above the country's battlefield.

The attack Thursday afternoon killed 298 people from nearly a dozen nations — including vacationers, students and a large contingent of scientists heading to an AIDS conference in Australia. At least 189 of the dead were from the Netherlands.

U.S. intelligence authorities said a surface-to-air missile brought down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 as it flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, but they did not speculate on who fired it. The Ukrainian government in Kiev, the separatist pro-Russia rebels they are fighting and the Russia government that Ukraine accuses of supporting the rebels all denied shooting the plane down. Moscow also denies backing the rebels.

After holding an emergency session, the U.N. Security Council called for "a full, thorough and independent international investigation" into the downing of the plane.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Friday for a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine and urged the two sides to hold peace talks as soon as possible. A day earlier, Putin had blamed Ukraine for the crash, saying Kiev was responsible for the unrest in its Russian-speaking eastern regions. But he did not accuse Ukraine of shooting the plane down and did not address the key question of whether Russia gave the rebels such a powerful missile.

Displaying 11 - 20 of 25 total comments

JFK made famous that expression in one of his speeches for me anyway.... Definitely not anything I heard Teddy say.... Not saying he didn't say or use it.... Just never heard him say it.... JFK brought it to life to me and my family....

9 months into gwb first term he was supposed to have known all things to prevent 911 but 6 years after obozo took his oath some are still making excuses. mother russia is headed back to gaining her strength so any actions better be carefully weighed before a sleeping gaint is awaken but my question to the left is what if that had been a american plane of if obozo had of been on it? would you have been screaming for blood just like you did after 911?

All of the BS blather doesn't mean sh*t, what matters is who is ready for another war and who is not. It is that simple period. What presidents did in the past does not mean jack sh*t as to addressing the problems of today, leaders change, borders change, politics change, but what presidents did in the past set the stage for what is happening today, that's for sure.

Hey Capitalist12 - Great post!.Hey FSM - You are spot on. Putin views BH Obama as nothing more than an empty suit and weak. I'm no fan of Putin and believe him to be a bully. Sadly, a bully like Putin will push around weak-kneed leaders like Obama til the cows come home. Someone needs to hit Putin in the mouth, as is the proper way to deal with any schoolyard bully. America is out of luck with Obama the Dove in command. As Putin bullies the world, Obama makes speeches. Are you Democrats ashamed yet?

What did the President of the United States do when our Navy shot down an Iranian Jumbo Jet carrying over 260 people with a missile fired off one of our ships in the Persian Gulf?What should Putin have done when the United States financed the Coup to unseat the elected friendly to Russia Government in the Ukraine and replaced that Government with our choosing so that there would be an American friendly Government adjacent to Russia ? Think that might have ticked them off?The Cuban Missile crisis arose from Russia placing a Rocket Complex in Cuba. Our Government would not stand for Russian missiles being that close to our borders and this is just the reverse, placing missile systems in Ukraine now that it has a government placed by America.One of these times, such "in your face actions" is going to explode into World War III.The U S overthrow of the Ukrainian Government was a stupid and dangerous move and if we are not careful we may yet get to participate in WW III. And then who started it probably won't matter to the Billions who might die.